Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Back in 2008, when the Dodgers were in the thick of a playoff race, Ned Colletti picked up a veteran third baseman to get us across the finish line. It was a costly trade that sent one of leagues top catching prospects, Carlos Santana, to Cleveland for Casey Blake. Many folks hemmed and hawed. After all, we love our prospects. On the other hand, we did win the pennant, and got past the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the dreaded Phillies stopped us in our tracks during the National League Championship series. If only we had a front line starter to get us over that hump.

According to sources, Colletti had worked out a 5-for-1 trade with the Indians that would have landed left-hander CC Sabathia in early July. But McCourt would not agree to pick up the $5.5 million remaining on Sabathia's contract, so Colletti settled for Indians infielder Casey Blake later in the month.

Man-O-Live. What could have been. Clearly, McCourt's financial troubles effecting the team go back at least 3 seasons. Sabathia concluded the 2008 season by going 8-2 with a 1.65 ERA for the Brewers. He was less effective in the playoffs, but how I would have loved to see that match-up.

Of course, not knowing who the 5 Dodgers in the potential trade makes it easy to judge this non-trade. If Kemp or Kershaw were involved then McCourt may have done right by us.

Since I had already written a bunch of stuff about Matt previously (see here) I won't bore you with anything else. What I will do is introduce you to his better half. As you may know, Matt is married to gold medalist Misty May.

They originally met in early 2004 and married later that year. They are both Southern California born and bred- Matt in Garden Grove and Misty in Los Angeles- and maintain homes in both Florida and Long Beach.

A special note, they both happen to have tattoos on their left forearms dedicated to one another. From playerwives.com:

Matt and Misty have the tandem M-squared tattoos on their left arms. The M-squared obviously refers to Misty's first two initials. In an interview with ESPN, Treanor stated that she jokes with her husband "Babe, if anything ever happens, I'm still MM, but I don't know about you."

OK, enough of this writing stuff, here are some more pics of our new backups. We have to get a new uniform for both of them to wear.

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that they have signed catcher Matt Treanor to a one-year contract with a club option for 2013. Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

The Garden Grove, CA native has started 50 or more games in five of the past six seasons and thrown out 22.1% of basestealers throughout his career, including a career-best 41.9 caught stealing percentage in 2006 with the Marlins (13-of-31).

Treanor, 35, caught a team-high 81 games (52-29, .642) for the Rangers in 2010 and played a big role in Texas’ postseason run, catching all four of C.J. Wilson’s starts and homering in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.

The eight-year Major League veteran is a .225 career hitter and has suited up in the big leagues with Florida (2004-08), Detroit (2009), Texas (2010-2011) and Kansas City (2011). In 2011, he hit a combined .214 with three homers and 22 RBI in 72 games, including 64 starts, with the Royals and Rangers.

Treanor was originally selected by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 1994 First-Year Player Draft out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. He is married to two-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor and resides in Coral Springs, FL.

The Dodgers also appear close to securing a backup catcher, agreeing to terms with veteran catcher Matt Treanor on a one-year contract, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed. Treanor, 35, would become the team's backup catcher, behind A. J. Ellis, to begin the 2012 season until top catching prospect Tim Federowicz is deemed ready to take over.

Well that's not too bad. He made $850k last season, so it looks like he might get a little raise. BTW, Matt is a local kid, having been born in Orange County and played ball at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. His offensive stats are a bit underwhelming:&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Report Created on &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Baseball-Reference.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Obviously, we aren't getting him for his bat- he hit just .214 last year. It's his glove that appeals to us. In 8 pro seasons he has a career 26% caught stealing percentage and a fielding percentage of .990.&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Report Created on &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Baseball-Reference.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Heck, he is even considered a good clubhouse presence.

From the Star-Telegram: When asked how they felt when finding out Treanor had been traded early last season only to be reacquired late in the season.

"We weren't happy with it," second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "We all loved having him in the locker room. He made a huge impact, and he's definitely someone we wanted to keep and have around. It's going to be really nice to have him back."

Of course, maybe there is something else that attracts him to the Dodgers. Oh yhea, he happens to be married to beach volleyball extraordinaire and gold medalist Misty May. They tied the knot in 2004 and have a home in the Long Beach area.

Topps is set to introduce a new brand to their Baseball lineup for next season. It is a high-end set that will be called Topps Museum Collection. Packs will, no doubt, be expensive and include either an inserted relic or autograph in each one. Strangely, it appears that this set is just a renaming of a brand they just introduced this past season- Topps Marquee. Check out Beckett for more info.

The above card of Roberto Clemente is the base card. For us Dodger fans, Topps shares a mock-up of a Sandy Koufax booklet card. This would look pretty sweet in any collection.

Check out this vintage, circa 1950's, Brooklyn Dodger doll I ran into on eBay recently. It is approximately 8 inches tall and, if memory serves right, was available for sale by concessionaires outside of Ebbets Field. This auction also included a period Brooklyn Dodger pin with ribbon. I've seen several photos of young lads hawking pins like the one shown, as well as player photo pins, with this kind of doll along side them. No doubt, these are scarce, but are not highly sought after. After all, there are no Brooklyn markings on the doll. Nevertheless, it's a nice vintage piece that would look pretty good in a Dodger collection. This particular item sold for just $19.99.

What he has endured the last two years: "It's been tough. It's been a tough couple years, no question. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's been a privilege to own this franchise. My focus is to make sure I hand it on in better shape than I found it."

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis